Kookaburras beat Belgium, Hockeyroos lose in Pro League

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Kookaburras beat Belgium, Hockeyroos lose in Pro League

The Kookaburras have snapped their two-game losing run, powering past Belgium 3-1 in Argentina.

Jack Welch opened the scoring for the *********** men’s hockey team, before Nathan Ephraums and Cooper Burns added goals in their final Santiago del Estero game on Tuesday (AEDT).

It is the Kookaburras’ first FIH Pro League win over the Europeans since 2019, denying the world No.2 the opportunity to rise to top spot in the standings.

The Hockeyroos did not enjoy the same dominance in the late game, falling 3-2 to Belgium’s women to extend their losing streak to five.

Australia’s men, the reigning Pro League champions, leave Argentina fifth on the table after bouncing back from a 1-0 defeat to the host nation the previous day.

Mark Hager’s side had also suffered a frustrating 4-3 penalty shootout defeat, after drawing 2-2, in their first match against Belgium.

Australia found their way through a stubborn Belgian defence via Welch late in the first quarter before Emphraums converted a penalty corner in the second.

Rising Kookaburras star Burns put the result to bed in the third when Campbell Geddes sent a rocket at keeper Loic van Doren and Burns pounced on the rebound.

Nicolas de Kerpel slotted a consolation in the final term to deny Australia a clean sheet.

“We definitely didn’t want to end the tour on a loss,” Kookaburra Tim Brand said.

“Yesterday definitely wasn’t our best against Argentina.

“Much better performance (against Belgium) and very happy with the win.”

The Hockeyroos remain sixth on the women’s ladder after their fifth defeat.

They were stunned by Belgium’s Ambre Ballenghien just seconds after the opening whistle.

Ballenghien almost bagged another at the end of the first quarter but was denied after the video referee found she used the back of her stick.

Belgium did extend their lead after Alix Gerniers and Stephanie Vanden Borre made the most out of two penalty corners before halftime.

Mariah Williams reduced the deficit after ****** converting a penalty stroke in the third quarter.

Courtney Schonell added another but the Hockeyroos could not find the equaliser in the final five minutes.

“We haven’t had a game where we’ve been able to put out 100 per cent on the pitch for the whole 60 minutes,” Hockeyroo Rebecca Greiner said.

“However, I do think we’ve stepped up between each game.

“Look, we didn’t come away with any wins but we’ve got to leave with our heads held high.”

The Hockeyroos return to Pro League action on June 7 against the Netherlands in Amstelveen, while the Kookaburras take on India on June 14 in Belgium.

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